Muscular Dystrophy Canada is a nonprofit whose mission is to enhance the lives of those affected with neuromuscular disorders by continually working to provide ongoing support and resources while relentlessly searching for a cure through well funded research.

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Consciously Shifting Gears

“He has achieved success who has worked well, laughed often and loved much.” -Elbert Hubbard

Balance is an incredibly important idea that can create space, clarity and flow in our lives. Every once in a while we shift in and out of balance, and in order to re-stabilize the balance in our lives we have to be consciously aware of what creates a healthy balance in the first place. Things that we value or choose to fill our time with are diverse and vary person to person. It is valuable to look critically at all the aspects of our lives in order to see what we are needing more or less of in order to create that equilibrium. In order to re-calibrate the balance in my life, I do a dynamic exercise that I want to share with you!

To start, create a pie chart with different aspects of your life (to narrow the focus, we will say a snapshot of a week). Include all things that you fill your time with.. and be honest! For example, school, family, friends, computer, TV, activities… Each section will be a loose representation in size of how much time you spend on the specific area per week. Your pie chart will be completely unique to you.

Then, on the other side of the paper – start over and use the same things that you have on the first pie chart but make the sections bigger or smaller displaying more of a refection of how much time you would like to spend on each area within your week.

Be realistic and get creative with your “possibility” pie chart. The idea is to shift and re-prioritize what’s already in the first pie chart instead of trying to add more things in to fill up your time. Put positive energy and thought into the exercise and through creativity, make it come alive on your paper.

Once you have completed it, congratulate yourself for taking the time to critically look into your life and enjoy the feeling of having an intention set. If you put it out there with positive intentions and with true dedication, it will start to actualize in its own way throughout your life. Your own balance scale will start to feel a sense of equality that is just right because you created it with the things you already do!

We all have the power to create balance our lives, so I encourage you to take the time and effort to invest in your self-reflection. It will be well worth the effort!

Kendal Gerus is a MuscleFacts and Bridges to the Future Program Coordinator. This article is an excerpt from Bridges to the Future newsletter, you can read the full version here.

“Life is a balanced system of learning and evolution. Whether pleasure or pain; every situation in your life serves a purpose. It is up to us to recognize what that purpose could be.” -Steve Maraboli